Applicator for prepared lather



Feb. 27, 1968 J. F. CUPP 3,370,908

APPLICATOR FOR PREPARED LATHER Filed Oct. 21, 1965 JERRY F. CUPP @MFZZQ PATENT AGENT INVENTOR.

United States Patent Office 3,370,908 Patented Feb. 27, 1968 3,370,908 APPLICATOR FOR PREE'ARED LATHER Jerry F. Cupp, 2365 Dorval Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95130 Filed Oct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 499,639 Claims. (Cl. 401-190) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An applicator for attachment releasably to a commercially-available can of prepared shaving lather facilitating application of the lather to a shavers face.

The present invention relates to shaving brushes and more particularly to applicators for prepared lather as presently distributed in pressurized cans or containers.

In the past, a shaving brush was rubbed against a bar of shaving soap to create lather which was then applied to the face of the shaver by that same brush. More recently, cans of pressurized lather have been marketed and include a valved nozzle which upon displacement enables the prepared lather to be dispensed from the can. Conventionally, prepared lather is dispensed onto the fingers which are then utilized to apply the lather to the face preparatory to the shaving operation. Such operation is messy and the fingers do not constitute excellent instrumentaiities for effective application of the lather over the shavers beard.

Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide an applicator for prepared lather which is inexpensive yet effective from all aspects in the application of lather to the face preparatory to shaving.

It is a feature of the invention to provide an applicator which may be detachably connected to conventional pressurized cans of prepared lather for utilization therewith in the application of lather to the face.

A related feature of the invention is the provision of an applicator which takes the general form of a brush having a central channel therethrough which is adapted to conduct the dispensed lather towards the ends of the brush which can subsequently be utilized to apply the dispensed lather onto the shavers face.

Yet more particularly, it is a feature of the invention to mount the applicator brush in angular relationship to the dispensing nozzle of the can to facilitate application of the lather to the face.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the applicator is mounted for resilient displacement on the can so that it may be displaced by finger pressure to in turn etfect displacement of the valve nozzle from which the lather is dispensed.

In accordance with a modified aspect of the invention, the applicator includes a displaceable actuator to effect displacement of the valve nozzle for dispensing of the lather onto the applicator brush.

These as well as other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent from a perusal of the following description of the structures illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein;

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an applicator embodying the present invention as attached to a conventional can of prepared lather,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the applicator indicating its mounting relationship to the can and certain details of its construction,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating one manner of attachment of the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the can of pressurized lather, and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating a modified embodiment of the invention.

With initial reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, an applicator embodying the present invention can take the form of a cup 19 which is mounted in an inverted position over the top of a can C of prepared lather. Conveniently, the mounting is a detachable one so that when the lather has completely been dispensed from the can C, the applicator can be removed and reapplied to another full can of lather.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an interior groove 12 is formed adjacent the lower rim of the cup 10 and mounts a spiral spring 14 having two or more turns, the innermost turn of the spring being adapted to engage the can C of pressurized lather beneath a shoulder typically found thereon. Accordingly, the cup 10 is resiliently supported against axial movement relative to the can. However, it will also be clear that the spiral spring 14 will permit limited lateral displacement of the cup 10 relative to the can C.

The base of the cup 10, as best illustrated in FIG. 2, is preferably disposed at an angle of approximately 45 relative to the longitudinal axis of the cup and accordingly at the same angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the can C and its valved nozzle N. Centrally, an opening 16 is provided in the base of the cup 10 so as to closely encompass the upper extremity of the valved nozzle N. Accordingly, when the cup 10 is laterally displaced in a manner permitted by the spiral spring mounting, the upper extremity of the nozzle N is engaged and displaced so that lather will be dispensed therefrom in a conventional fashion.

A plurality of bristles 18 are mounted to project upwardly from the angularly-disposed base of the cup 10 for a distance of one inch or more and, since there are no bristles projecting from the central opening I6 in the base of the cup, a central channel 20 is formed through which the dispensed lather may flow to gradually accumulate at the upper ends of the bristles 18. Accordingly, such accumulated lather can be readily applied to the face of the shaver with the advantages attendant from brush application.

It will be quite obvious that various modifications of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and one such modification is illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein a number of the structural elements are similar to those described in conjunction of the first embodiment of the invention and are therefore indicated with like reference numerals with the addition of a prime notation thereto.

The cup 10' is generally similar in its over-all configuration to that of the first embodiment of the invention but is composed of resilient material and can be slotted as shown at 11 to enable resilient application over the shoulder on the can C, an internal circumferential groove 12' being provided adjacent the lower rim of the cup 10' so as to resiliently accommodate the shoulder and enable quick attachment or detachment of the entire unit from the can C. Again, the base of the cup 10 is angularly disposed and has a central opening 16' therewithin which encompasses the top of the valved nozzle N on the can C and a plurality of bristles 18 project from the base in surrounding relationship to the central opening.

In order to displace the upper end of the nozzle N and effect dispensing of lather therefrom, an actuating rod 22 is slidably secured in a suitable opening in the side wall of the cup 16' and the end of such rod is slightly enlarged to provide a button 24 which can be manually depressed to, in turn, through axial movement of the rod, effect displacement of the nozzle N and ultimately dispense lather 0 therefrom.

It will be apparent that yet other modifications and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and, accordingly, the foregoing description of two' structures is to be considered purely as exemplary and'not in a limiting sense. The actual scope of the invention is to be indicated only by reference to the appended claims.

-: What is claimed is:

1. An'applicator for use with a can of prepared lather having a resilient valved nozzle projecting therefrom, which applicator. comprises a cup adapted for detachable connectionto' the lather I can and having a central aperture in its base portion encompassingthe upper end of the nozzle,

a plurality of bristles secured to the base of said cup and projecting therefrom around said opening so as to definea central channel through said bristles, and

means associated with said cupfor displacing said nozzle laterally to open the valve wherefor the lather flows therefrom through said central channel to the ends of said bristles.

2. An applicator according to claim 1 wherein the base of said cup is disposed in a plane making an angle of approximately 45 relative to the axis of said nozzle.

3. An applicator according to claim 1 wherein said nozzle displacing means includes an actuator extending slidably through the wall of said cup and adapted to engage the nozzle laterally so as to effect displacement thereof upon displacement of said actuator.

4. An applicator according to claim 1 wherein said cup is formed from resilient material and is adapted to resiliently engage the can of prepared lather.

, SJ'Afn applicaton'for: use with can deem-gamma having a resilient valved nozzle projecting "therefrom, which applicator comprises V j a cup adapted for detachable connection to the lather can and having a central aperture in its base portion adjacent the upper end of the nozzle,

a plurality of bristles secured to the base of said cup and projecting'therefrom around. said openingso as to define a central channel through said bristles, and

means associated with said cnpfor displacing said nozzle laterally to open the. valve wherefor the lather flows therefrom through saidcentral channel to the I ends of said bristles,

said nozzle displacing means includinga resilient connection between said cup and the can whereby the entire cup can be laterally displaced to in turn dis- Place the nozzle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,137,885 6/1964 Hulsh -2 15-552 3,184,781 5/1965 Hoxie 15-552 3,231,923 2/1966 Gaines 15-552 3,256,549 6/1966 Evesque- 15-552.

CHARLES A. WlLLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Examiner. 

